Steven, i seen on the Trainz forums your question on crossings was answered , Glad you was helped, they explained it much better then i could have .

Nutbar, seems your following this thread, and and words cant describe just how happy that makes me, THANK YOU! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Thanks for posting #2900 again too! , i just love those FM's ...honestly though i'm not a big CN fan, i just love your WHOLE engine collection :mrgreen:

ROCK VALLEY SUB to Proviso Yard

After working some on a scratch built layout in Trainz, i swiftly decided that wasnt really the way to start things out , i'm just to new at it and need to learn so much before i can really do a fresh new layout to my standards...SO, i decided to take my favorite layout in the game and change it into the Rock Valley Sub, THATS RIGHT, the RVS is back, but in Trainz :mrgreen: .

I started with an existing layout to help me with scripting, now i can see what they did and change it to my needs, and to have a nice layout to still run on when i get tired of building.

WHAT I HAVE DONE SO FAR

I have changed much of the track work to fit my needs, added some industries, added an adjoining mineline in spots, this is where WSOR meets with the Union Pacific(much like it really does here in Wisconsin! ).

I have been downloading NEW ground textures and trees from dmdrake, he makes the absolute BEST greenery for the game that you could possibly imagine, and his stuff is FREE!!!. I have started re-doing the landscape with his stuff in some areas, by the time i am through ALL the layout will have his Fantastic stuff throughout it.

I have replaced all the existing signals with the correct UP signals.

I have put up a good assortment of industries up that relate to this area....mostly grain & ethanol plants, but really much more.

I have sought out and found the best of the best UP engines and rolling stock available, most of it was FREE, some i bought, and a few things i had made for me.

MY DREAM NOW ATTAINABLE

In modeling HO i always dreamed of doing a layout that went from the Rock Valley Sub right on to Proviso Yard in Chicago, NOW, with Trainz, I AM GOING TO DO IT!!! I have started adding onto the layout, making the trek on to Proviso, so far i have added 5 miles of scenery and track.

MY GOALS

I hope to have a really outstanding run when i am finished, full of side activities, but with the main theme of moving trains from the Rock Valley Sub to Proviso Yard and back again.

I would like to put a Rail Road museum in, and...a GERN :mrgreen: . Really both would be real easy to do except for the GERN sign, might have to photoshop that in until i can figure out how to make objects :oops: .

I want to keep everything pretty much Top Quality, all the pics i have been posting just show the textures that come with the game, as this thread progresses you will start noticing MUCH better enviroments .

I dont want to go nuts trying to do it all at once, got to keep it fun, so running trains will take most of my time, building will be done in spurts.

Rock Valley Sub- THE SUB

Honestly, as i was creating the RVS yard i realized i had WAY MORE engines then a real sub would have :oops: , thats what got me thinking to put in Proviso yard . You'll see in the pics below that i STILL have more engines in RVS yard then i should :oops: , and i had deleted half of them out for these shots. I have acquired a UP empire of engines , and can honestly say that NONE OF THEM are the same number. My fleet contains UP engines, SP, MP(IN UP colors), Rio Grande and CNW , some are patched, some not, but they ALL are now owned by the Union Pacific.

As you'll see in upcoming pics, Big Ed and the RVS crew has resurrected a Big Boy, a UP "light" Mountain, an AC-12 cab Forward, a U50C(man i always loved those! ) , a DD40AX, a DD35A & DD35B unit, an 8500 series Gas Turbine, and a few other surprises .

Lets get to some pics of the RVS yard...

well, first here's Big Ed in front of the RVS's 8500 series Gas Turbine


OK, now some shots of the RVS yard, still needs some work, but this is what i got so far...








At the Old RVS round house you see a Big Boy on the turntable, in the round house is a UP "light" Mountain, an RS3, and a GP9, with an AC-12 Cab forward on a service track.


OK, I am trying to keep only top quality stuff in my game however, there are a few engines that i am going to keep in even though they DONT meet my standards, yet they are very cool in their own right, lets get to them so i can get them out of the way for the "better" stuff. First up is the U50C, the model quality except for the glass is really outstanding, sadly the creator doesnt know how to weather, so it looks kinda "toyish" , but i just love the U50C's so much that i keep one on the RVS roster. Note the engine DOES NOT have a number on it, i have 3 different engines like that so i just keep one of each, except for the SD90/43MAC's, all 3 of those have different paint schemes to tell them apart .


Next on my "sub-par" list is a DD35A & DD35B, these engines were made by a kid, seeing his pic he looked to be 17-22, he done a GREAT JOB on the models, but failed to detail them and the paint isnt great...to bad. i read that "CloakedGhost" had prmission to redo the skins on these and they turned out STUPENDOUS, supposedly they are for sale somewhere but i just cant find them to save my life .


Next is a C36-7, this is really an awesome engine, done very well, but what kills it is no number :cry: , since it has no number i only have one on the RVS roster.


Last on my "sub-par" engine list are the SD90/43MAC's, i am just posting one of them, but i have three on the roster, all three are weathered and painted a little differant. Great models, but NOT great paint, and no numbers. i keep them on the roster though because hey, who doesnt like SD90/43MAC's .


OK, now on to the better stuff! , I'm NOT going to post my whole fleet in this post, but the rest of the pics will show a few more engines in various spots around the layout. This first pic isnt a great shot of the scenery, but its the only area i have a shot of that i put some of dmdrake's FANTASTIC scenic textures in.








I have 5 different CNW SD40-2's, this is one(of two) of the "Falcon service" ones i have.




An example of the OUTSTANDING QUALITY freight cars i have acquired.




Next two shots show four of UP's famously known "Fast 40's" , NOT SD40-2's, just SD40's.




1 of 2 of the GP35's on the roster


Both of the GP50's on the RVS roster


Well, thats it for now folks
Till next time...Stay ON TRACK!

Holy smokes...!!! A layout in a can..That's terrific..!!! One thing I like about it...You can get "up close & personal" with it. It's like standing trackside.... Great loco collection, too...and that bridge scene is outa' sight...!!

Can you do a whole track plan to scale to help build the real thing..?? And run it "from the inside" of the lead loco..?? That would be SLAP AWESOME..!!!

Keep it coming..!!!

Great lookin' roster, Deano.
I especially like the shot of the 18 on the deck truss bridge - those trees in the background are impressive - and the C40-8Ws a couple of views later appear to almost leap out of the screen.

Isn't there an option in that programme for some "virtual decals"? The un-numbered locos are a good idea if you want to have multiples of the same loco, but there must be a way to number them individually.

Wayne

Deano, now I really want to build up a layout better than the one I'm "working" on. Although my layout is simply for learning with, and it is working! Now I should go update my thread with newer screnshots I've taken

Deano this is awesome!!

I played Train Simulator a while back, like you, i didnt like it too much. This is freaking sweet though!! I wanna get it. :hey: Let me ask you one question though, can you run it on a MAC?

First, Thank You, Guys, for checking out this thread and for the complements, THANKS! :mrgreen:
I wasnt sure how a thread like this would go over here, REAL GLAD to see some interest though!

Gus, you bet you can ride the trip inside the cab of the engines! :mrgreen: , though its neat to do that, i find myself popping in and out of the cab most of the time, the sounds are so much better out of the cab, and you can see so much more. (gives a new respect to engineers for me, i really got to give them credit. ) And, YES, you CAN do the route in "Real world" , some guys use google maps to create actual routes , I'm too darn new at this to be able to do it yet though, to many other things to learn first.

Wayne, i wish there was a program for "virtual decals" , once i learn to open a CDP file i will be able to create things, such as signs, and will be able to edit things, like putting numbers on engines, the problem is there is just so much to learn it is almost overwhelming , one step at a time for me.

Steven, i seen you are doing a layout from scratch, i tried that too but found it to be a daunting task. You can do what you wish, but i think if you start out by picking a favorite layout thats in the game, or perhaps one that you have downloaded, it will give you a couple advantages in learning how to change the track as it suits your needs, factories, towns, learning scripting, learning to add on to the layout, and you can still have fun running trains on it while checking to see that you havent made any mistakes, that ended up being my thoughts on it for just starting out .

Josh , MAC's?....MAC's?.....you mean some people actually use those things? , JUST KIDDING!
No, i am sorry my friend, i just looked at the system requirements on the box and there is no mention of MAC's
My brother has a MAC, he goes to the MAC store to pick up games for it, not much a selection, but they do have some, perhaps they have Trainz there?

******************************************************************************
NEW NEWS!

I spent all morning downloading TONS of ground textures, trees, shubs and weeds, THEN, about 12:30 i decided to get serious and figure out how to create a better world environment for the RVS. After just over six hours i think i have come up with a winning ground cover combination! :mrgreen:

I deleted 1.5 miles of scenery starting from just outside the yard heading south, and was determined to get this ground cover problem solved. If you look at all the past pics i have posted in this thread, you will notice the ground cover looks just slap horrendous , but after just over six hours of trying different things i found a GREAT DIRT(who would have guessed i'd be so excited over dirt ), and i also found by mixing three different grasses i am VERY HAPPY with the look it gives me for country running! . I also found a GREAT in town grass type, but no pics of it yet.

So anyways, i was so excited i made up a train, SD60M with an SD50 behind it, hauling a string of boxcars with an SD70M behind it all, i took that train and ran it through the 1.5 miles i had re-done and took pics to show you folks. I also added some NEW trees in, but put some old ones up too. SO, if you look at past pics, then compare the world environment to THESE FOUR NEW PICS, i think you'll notice one heck of a GREAT improvement ....well, i hope so anyways .

That is one heck of an improvement. Looks 100% better!

Loren

Wayne

Well crud! i was hoping that MAC's would be able to play too

guess ill have to wait till i get Windows on this thing, which will hopefully be soon lol.

BTW, nice improvements, i like the new ground

Deano, the layout I'm building from scratch isn't a serious one, just one to get used to the controls and how to use surveyor. Also doubles as a nice place to take screen shots. Well, it WILL anyway

Loren, Wayne and Josh, THANKS! :mrgreen:

Steven, i have been checking your Trainz thread for updates .

*********************************************************************************************************
UPDATE

Well, since i have solved my ground cover problem i have started the slow process of trying to really give the Rock Valley Sub that true Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois look and feel. Its slow going becouse there are so many miles of land to what i have at the moment, and i am trying to be real picky on how it comes out. The RVS is based in Southern Wisconsin and i really want you folks to get the flavor of what RRing is really like in my area.

Heres a few shots of a UP train(er...mostly engine shots ) coming back from WSOR's interchange tracks heading to the RVS.
ALSO:
Contrary to what some might think, i DO like steam engines too! , good looking steam is hard to find in Trainz but i happened across this 2-8-2, it really was done well, i have a non-weathered one(pictured), and a weathered one.

Deano, I have to either get on the other computer, or transfer some files before I can update my thread with all the recent shots. I figured out my crossing problems, and have started to get the hang of scenery. I have a nice scene I'm working on with a little chapel in a cemetery that is coming along. Its tucked away, off the main road, next to the lake that most of my pictures have been taken at. I still have to do some scenery work at the crossings that actually see traffic to make them a bit more photogenic. I could keep going on!

Your work is looking pretty good. We have to see if there is a way to transfer that over to my computer when (or is that if) you're done, as it looks fun to run

Just playing around with different scenarios...

First is a night run on the RVS...


The crew on the RVS cant outrun this storm. Honestly this pic doesnt even come close to showing just how awesome the storms in this game are, so real, the clouds light up with lightning, lightning strikes happen randomly..REAL AWESOME!, and the rain is just fantastic looking. Of all the different types of scenarios you could do, nice and sunny is my favorite, but stormy definitely comes in at second, its just so cool.


It looks as if the engineers are starting to run into some snow here...


Oh yeah, snow has come! (Hey, i just found how to make my Christmas cards this year! )

This is beyond cool! Great screen caps Deano! The night shot is awesome! I think I might have to go shopping to can get an external graphics card for my laptop and download this sim.

Although, I'm afraid I can't afford anymore distractions from the work needed on my layout.